Shot in the Heart
by Crimson Angel
Summary: The Fellowship is attacked by the ring wraiths again. Who saves them? Legolas seems to know her! Aragorn might know her! Could it be Arwen? Or is it someone else? Please R/R!
1. Dusty Winds...

Shot in the Heart  
CHAPTER 1 - "Dusty Winds"  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++  
Author: Crimson Angel  
Email: ElectricGoddess@hotmail.com  
Genre: Adventure/Romance   
Book Series: Lord of the Rings   
Notes: Yeah, I know it doesn't make sense in some parts, but I promise you I will indeed fix it later! Layla is an original character of mine, and she is NOT a Mary Sue! I if I get any rants or flames, I will post your name on my site and will not come off!  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
The land darknened and the rain began to pelt down like iron onto the ground as it hit everyone while they tried their best to stay on the path. Gandalf's beard flew this way and that as it blew in the stirring wind. Frodo pulled his arms tightly against himself under his robes in hopes to decrease the numbing in his arms. The cold wind felt like daggers in Merry and Pipin's legs, and they began to stray off the trail.   
  
"Come along now. Don't go off the trail!" Aragorn shouted at Merry and Pippin in a ordering tone. "We don't want to be responsible for losing you!"  
"No need to shout!" Boromir hissed.  
"Coming, coming!" they both shouted as best they could through the blasting wind.   
  
Merry and Pippin tagged behind Sam. Aragorn seemed to have a large chip on his shoulder as he had gotten impatient while trying to keep everyone together. Aragorn pressed onward through the rain as the others tried to catch up. Gimli seemed to get impatient.   
  
"Aragorn, how far till we get to Rivendell again?" Gimli questioned.  
"It's hard to tell." he replied.  
  
The coldness in the wind seemed to disappear, but it still blew over the land, carrying leaves in its path, bending trees, and sweeping cloaks around with it. Aragorn continued to march ahead while Legolas stopped, causing the train to stop.   
  
"Legolas, what is it?" Frodo, the small hobbit asked curiously.  
"Hmm... I hear horses in the distance..." Legolas watched the horizon, his blonde hair blew in the wind.  
  
There was a loud screeching sound in the distance followed by the sound of horse hoofs. In the distance they spotted a black horse and its rider was cloaked in black.  
  
"THE RIDERS!" Gimli shouted.  
"No Gimli..." Aragorn's voice trailed off. "If it was it would be with the rest of it's kind."  
  
A black cloud of horses emerged from the woods and closed in on the cloaked figure. It was the nine ring wraiths. The hooded figure on the horse rode faster towards them, but the wraiths enclosed on it.  
  
"Come back to Mordor..." they hissed.  
  
The rider's horse was frightened and bucked its rider off. The creature landed face down in the grass.  
  
"Get her..." one of them hissed as it pointed in her direction.  
  
A ring wraith charged at the cloaked figure but it dodged, and suceeded in knocking the wrait off of its horse.   
  
"Over there!" a wraith hissed at Frodo.  
"Halflings! Run!" the figure's voice was a mystic eerie voice.  
"I know that voice from somewhere." the familiar voice seemed to strike Legolas.  
"Keep your guard up Legolas!" Aragorn shouted through the pelting rain. "Behind you!"  
  
Legolas took out his bow and arrows and aimed carefully at the rider about to attack the cloaked being. He shot the arrow and nailed a rider in the chest. As he was about to be sliced in two, he ducked as the black horse and its rider leaped over, missing him by an inch. The riders galloped after the hobbits and succeeded in getting Merry and Pippin. Aragorn and Boromir were busy fending off the wraiths, when a silver arrow shot through the air. Legolas' attention averted to the shining silver arrow.   
  
"Legolas, watch out!" Aragorn pushed a rider out of his path.  
  
A black rider seized the cloaked figure by the neck, and it kicked itself free, but the rider threw it onto the ground. A scream emitted from it. The scream sounded very eerie and elvish. Aragorn and Boromir lunged at the rider with his sword. Gimli fended off the others.  
  
"Fro......do...Bagg......ins...." the eight wraiths hissed as they turned to him.  
  
A rider rode at the elf, and sent it flying into Frodo. The elf's hood flew off revealing its face. Legolas stood shocked as his eyes were fixed on...her?  
  
"You shall not have him!" the woman yelled. "STAND DOWN!"  
  
Suddenly time stopped before Legolas. A memory flooded into his head.  
  
"LEGOLAS!" a voice screamed.  
"Let her go!" Legolas shouted.  
  
The riders hissed. One of the wraiths drove a sword through the elf's heart.  
  
"NO! PLEASE NO!" Legolas screamed with teary eyes.  
  
He was soon zapped back to reality. The elf woman was stabbed in the side by the rider cloaked in black.  
  
"I summon the winds!" the mystic voice shouted.  
  
Dusty winds blew the evil black riders away... and the elf woman disappeared...   
  
After the occurance earlier in the day, they later sat down around a blazing fire and set their clothes out to dry by the fire. Aragorn's brown eyes remained fixed on the fire. Strangely, he saw the elf woman's face in the fire. He chewed on a peice of jerky as he remembered the familiar face...  
  
"Where ever did he go?" Gandalf sat propped up by his wooden staff.  
"I do not know. But wherever he went, I hope he found Merry and Pippin!" Sam shivered.  
"Do not worry Sam, I am sure Legolas will find them!" Frodo patted Sam on the back. "He will find them...hopefully..."  
"Should I have gone with dear Legolas?" Aragorn's voice rose from behind the fire. "I shouldn't have let him go off alone."  
"He is fine by himself." Gimli said through a mouthful of Jerky. "Legolas is as sharp as an arrow and as light as a feather. Nothing could get through him."  
  
They heard a howl come from the forest. Sam cowered closer to Frodo. Frodo comforted him with a pat on the back. 'It's alright Sam, it won't hurt you.' He kept repeating.  
  
When the dawn began to break Legolas returned with more than he had left with. In his arms he carried the female elf as he exited the forest. He soon came up the hill and appeared into their sight. Merry and Pippin followed close behind him.  
  
"What's that?" Frodo asked about what he was carrying.  
"He found the elf lady!" Sam shouted.  
  
Legolas said nothing as he laid her down in a patch of green grass. He swept her hair out of her porcelain colored face, her hair fell neatly over her shoulders. Legolas sat by her side tending to her wound. Legolas wandered away for a while and Aragorn began to look at her. Aragorn's eyes stayed fixed on her, like an arrow to its target. He kneeled down and touched her face. 


	2. It's Not Arwen

Authors Note: Elven language used in this chapter is courtesy of http://www.grey-company.org/Circle/ . Ciao.  
  
03/04/03  
"Shot in the Heart"  
Chapter Two!  
  
  
Legolas took out his canteen, wetted his shirt, and wiped the blood from her face. Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin watched quietly while he did so. The Elven girl opened her eyes and saw Legolas and Aragorn standing over her. Her blue eyes gleamed like diamonds. She looked up into Legolas' milk white face... Her face was a pale white, and her smile melted their hearts...  
  
"She's awake." Legolas looked down at her.  
  
"Can we trust her Mr. Frodo?" Samwise whispered so the elf-lady wouldn't hear. "I mean she came in on that black rider's horse and-"  
"Sam, she wouldn't touch a curly hair on your head." Legolas replied.  
"Legolas knows her, so yes, I suppose we can." Frodo said.  
"Nae saian luume', Legolas." she spoke in Elven.  
(It has been too long, Legolas.)  
  
Their heads turned towards her. That was the first time she spoke since she blew away the wraiths. Her voice was soft and misty like Legolas'. Sam stayed quiet for the rest of the evening.  
  
"Uma, ta saian." Legolas smiled.  
(Yes, it has)  
  
~*~  
  
The sky slowly became dark and the day was swept away. The sky filled with sparkling stars, all was quiet and calm. They sat around a small fire to keep warm.   
  
"How is it you knew we were here?" Frodo asked her later.  
"I heard the riders hissing to each other in Mordor. They said my- Elrond permitted you nine to travel to Mt. Doom to destroy the ring." she softly spoke.  
"Woah! You were in Mordor?" Pippin gasped.  
"Yes. I was there with Sauron and his army." she spoke again.  
"Can you explain why you were riding one of their horses and wearing one of their cloaks?" Aragorn questioned her suspiciously.  
"Yes. I killed a black rider, or so I thought. I stole its horse and it's cloak and rode off with the other wraiths. I kept quiet until we got to Lothlorien and that's when I was discovered by the riders. I ran to Galadriel for help but she wasn't there." she spoke in human tongue.  
"How did you get here?"   
"I fled from them again and tried to go to Rivendell but they caught up with me again. And I escaped again."  
  
Merry and Pippin roamed around through their bags and pulled out the carrots they stole from the farmer in the shire. Everyone sat around the small but blazing fire eating the bread that Layla had brought along with her. Sam was a little bit skeptical to eat it, but when he saw Frodo eat he decided it was okay.  
  
"I was on the road for three days." 


	3. Iron Rain and the Sunset After

03/30/02  
"Shot in the Heart"  
Chapter Three!  
  
  
"I am glad to know that you were not killed." Gandalf's voice was low and misty.  
"It is nice to see you again, Layla." Boromir kissed her hand.  
"You- are?" Layla looked up from the red fire. "Why? ..."  
"There are just somethings one cannot answer..." he replied.  
  
She became silent and gazed back into the crimson fire. Merry, Pippin, and Sam sat around the fire playing cards, while Frodo was the odd one out. He wondered what would become of him now, what would happen to his friends, and what would happen to The Shire... Would it become a beautiful prospering place covered with wheat and flowers with little hobbits running and playing in the sun? Or would it become a barren wasteland, overrun with Orcs, Demons, Nazgul, and would Sauron be the conquerer of Middle Earth? For he did not know. No one knew what their fate would be, or what lie ahead for them in their journey. Could would Middle Earth just vanish from the world without a trace?   
  
In Layla's eyes Frodo could see hope for the fellowship, as well as beauty, freedom, and love. Maybe, he thought, that she had been sent by the elves to protect them and guide them along their way. But who would care, even when their journey became much longer and longer? Who was this elvish lady, where did she come from, and WHO sent her? Frodo kept watching her and wondering.   
  
The dark sky began to glow, and a shadow filled the sky... A storm began to brew, and it rained so hard that the raindrops were like iron pellets against their heads.  
  
"Here! Take cover in here!" Aragorn hurried the hobbits into the cave.  
"I think, maybe, if I am correct, Saruman has started this with his own hand." Gandalf placed his pointy hat in his lap"  
"I WISH I WAS BACK HOME IN THE SHIRE!" Sam cried.  
"I wish I was back home in my cozy hobbit hole, in my own warm bed..." Frodo curled up in the corner.  
"I sense something..." Layla's face went dark.  
"Tula sinome." Legolas beckoned Layla over to a patch of trees.  
(Come here)  
"Mani naa ta?" Layla stood up and brushed her hair out of her face.  
(What is it?)  
"Amin uuma sitai..." he motioned for her to come.  
(I don't know...)  
"What is it you silly elves sense?" the bearded Gimli laughed.  
"Dina, Spangaer!" Layla put a finger to her lips.  
(Be silent, bearded one!)  
"What did she say?" Gimli shouted.   
"Uuma dela, Layla." he holded her hand.  
(Don't worry, Layla)  
"I fear not." she leaned on his shoulder.  
  
Silence.  
  
"What was that?"  
"She said.... 'Be silent bearded one'." Aragorn shut him up.  
"Auta miqula orqu." Layla giggled.  
(Go kiss an orc)  
"WHAT DID SHE SAY?" Gimli shouted louder.  
"That dwarf is so loud that we could silence him in the dark." Layla laughed.  
"She told you to go kiss an orc." Aragorn shut the dwarf up again.  
"You'll pay for that!" Gimli pointed his axe at her.  
"Oh, will I now. I think it is you who will pay." she grinned.   
  
Layla turned and stared at Aragorn, with surprise. Did he understand what she was saying? Did he speak elvish? They both became silent and watches eachother. The cold winds blew upon them... and the shadow drawed closer...  
  
"Can you feel it too?" Gandalf watched the moving shadows.  
"I can feel it in the earth." Layla stood up at once with her back facing them as she looked off into the dark distance, hair blowing in the wind.  
"What is it that you sense?" Aragorn looked into the distance, but nothing was there.  
"Gandalf, what's going on?" said a very nervous Frodo.  
"Can you feel it Legolas?" Layla looked off into the distance again.  
  
Legolas stood beside her, hand in hand.  
  
"What is it?" he smelled the air.  
"I sense evil approaching. I do not know if I may be right, but I'm pretty sure something is going to happen. Something bad." She stood silently.  
"What could it be?" Frodo pondered with concern.  
"Curious, very curious..."Gandalf seized his staff.  
  
BOOM!  
  
"Could that riders be coming?" Frodo pulled Gandalf's sleeve.  
"Run, run, run!" a mystic voice filled Frodo's head.  
"Everyone, we must go!" Gandalf's staff lit up with white light.  
"We must move forward, we can't camp here." Aragorn shouted in the rain.  
  
They are seen running from the black riders...  
  
SHREIK!  
  
"Get the halflings!" Boromir shouted.  
  
Layla pulled Frodo onto her horse.  
  
"C'mon Frodo!" she grabbed Turk's reigns.  
  
~*~   
  
"Elrond, do you really think the fellowship will suceed? Do you really have faith in them?" an unknown lady elf questioned.  
"I trust them. It is hard, but I trust them." Elrond answered. "I do not know if they may be dead by now. For it has been a long time...since they have been here. But keep faith, that is important. I do not know if they will suceed."  
"Yes, but where is our tarien of Rivendell? What will become of our tarien?" the lady asked.  
"We must have faith." he raised his hand.  
"Elrond, those are very wise words" a familiar woman's voice broke out.  
"Greetings, lady of the wood."  
"Pleasure." she bowed.  
  
~*~  
  
The dark night was soon swallowed up by the clear shining morning. Frodo smelled the crisp morning air and took in his daily oxygen. The hobbits were the first ones awake that morning.   
  
"Is she awake?" Pippin poked her with a stick.  
"Leave 'her' alone, Pip!" Sam pulled the stick out of his hand and broke it in half. "She's injured enough already! Stop - stop it!"  
"You've been acting real strange lately, real strange since she got here." Pippin chuckled.  
"Uh, Pippin." Merry pointed.  
"Strange?! What do you mean I'm strange?" Sam glared evily at them.  
"Maybe because, you blush when she's around."  
"Do not do not do NOT!"  
"Yes yes yes! I've seen you do that before." Merry taunted.  
"Lalalalalala!"  
  
Merry and Pippin danced around Sam in a circle. Sam became dizzy from watching the spectacle, so he fell on the ground flat on his bottom with a loud THUD.  
  
"Ow. Get off." Legolas rolled over on his side.   
"Pippin, please, get a life." Layla yawned.  
"Hahahahaha!" Frodo laughed his head off.  
"I see that you like to make fools of yourselves, Hobbits." Hooted Gandalf.  
"Nice to know someone cares." Layla sat up.  
  
Sam blushed. Layla ruffled his hair and smiled. Sam looked at Frodo curiously while Merry and Pippin argued over something.  
  
Thus began their play-fighting downhill. Soon it was stopped however, since they crashed into Boromir's feet. Boromir seized Sam and Merry by the collar and tossed them into a pile of leaves.  
  
"That's good, atleast you can sword fight!" Boromir laughed as he fought Pippin.  
"Move your feet Pip." Merry applauded.  
  
The others just sat by and watched, except for Aragorn. Aragorn sat perched on top of a large boulder, staring off into the distance, spaced out into his own world.   
  
"Would you like to try Layla?" Sam offered the bored Layla.  
"Nah, I'd rather watch." she sat next to her horse.   
"Aw, c'mon!" Boromir pulled her up.  
  
She crossed her arms, and wanted to be left alone.  
  
"Fine." she said breifly.  
  
*they begin swordfighting*  
  
"Hah, so you're not bad after all!" Boromir caught her before she fell.  
"Thanks, but I don't need any rescuing!" she jumped away.  
  
Aragorn looked at the familiar sword.  
  
"Not bad, not bad at all." Frodo watched.  
"Oof!"  
"Ha!"  
"Ow!"  
  
  
SLASH!  
CLANG!  
  
"Alright, alright already! You win!"  
  
Boromir fell to the ground laughing.  
  
Later into the day...  
  
Everyone is seen heading to a clearing in the woods. The sun shined brighter than it ever did before. The two elves are seen riding in the sunset. Aragorn ponders something...  
  
"Aragorn, something is troubling you. What is it?" Frodo asked the shadowy Aragorn.  
"Do not worry about my troubles, remember, we must get the ring to Mordor."  
"Why do you space out like that?" Frodo asked with his back turned.  
"There is something about that elf, indeed." Aragorn sat on a fallen over tree.  
"There is always something about elves." Boromir sat next to Aragorn. "You never know what thought."  
  
Aragorn watches Legolas and Layla in the sunset...  
  
"Mankoi naa lle sinome, Arwenamin?"  
(What are you doing here, my lady?)  
"Amin uuma sinta mankoi. Jenu ten...Amin mela lle"  
(I don't know why; maybe because...I love you...)  
"You promised you'd stay..." he whispered.  
  
They kissed in the sunset. 


End file.
